Christophe Derdeyn Highlights Key Trends Driving Business Consulting Evolution

The consulting industry is undergoing a structural shift, and Christophe Derdeyn, Managing Director of Icon Cloud Solutions and co-founder of delaware South-East Asia, has been watching the transformation from the front lines. With more than two decades of experience in IT innovation and business transformation, Derdeyn has built a career helping enterprises rethink how they deploy technology for maximum business impact.

One of the clearest changes he sees is a move away from turnkey solutions delivered by large consulting houses toward in-house orchestration of specialized talent. “Companies are moving more towards in-source teams to deliver outcomes,” Derdeyn explains. “They will prefer to work with individual contributors they find in the market, building the most competent team with the best people that we find.”

This approach allows organizations to maintain direct control over project direction and select niche experts as needed. While traditional outsourcing still has a place, the emphasis is shifting toward agility, transparency, and hands-on oversight.

AI’s Disruption of the Consulting Playbook

Artificial intelligence is another powerful catalyst reshaping client expectations. “The introduction of artificial intelligence has dramatically accelerated this,” says Derdeyn. “People are now much more prepared when they get into consulting because they actually do some pre-work before they reach out.” Large language models have given executives access to information and analysis that once required significant consulting fees. As a result, many technology consulting divisions face pressure to justify their value. Derdeyn notes that even within his own sector, the impact has been rapid. In ERP development, “80 to 90 percent of developments are already written by AI and stitched together by developers. Two years ago that was zero.” Consultants can no longer simply be repositories of product knowledge. Instead, they must deliver strategic insight that AI alone cannot provide.

The New Consultant: Bridging Business and Technology

Derdeyn believes the most valuable consultants in the coming years will be those who can operate at the intersection of process design, technology enablement, and stakeholder negotiation. “People that know solutions very well are becoming less and less important,” he says. “We need to be the link between the true business and the solution. To be able to drive an outcome, you need to be a mix between a management consultant, an ERP consultant, and a negotiator.”

This blend of skills allows consultants to lead with business process understanding and use technology as a strategic enabler. It’s a return, in some ways, to the consulting ethos of the 1980s, when process leadership drove technology deployment, updated for a world where AI can automate many technical tasks. However, making this shift requires adaptability. Most consultants today sit “either fully in technology or fully in business,” Derdeyn notes, and breaking into the middle ground will be essential for long-term relevance.

Adapting Skills for the Next Decade

For professionals looking to future-proof their careers, Derdeyn’s advice is straightforward: learn to think like the other side. Technology specialists should focus on understanding the business impact of their work: how it improves efficiency, reduces costs, or enhances customer outcomes. Business leaders should study the constraints and capabilities of the technologies they rely on. “It’s always trying to cross over to the other side,” Derdeyn says. “You can use AI to help you provide that insight. You can also use a lot of YouTube. There’s plenty of resources available to help you open your eyes and understand.”

This curiosity-driven approach not only helps individuals stay relevant but also positions organizations to adapt faster to market changes. Those that embrace this mindset now will be better equipped to lead when AI-driven configuration and process design become mainstream in the next three to four years. For Derdeyn, the future of consulting is already taking shape. The winners will be those who can combine process leadership, technological fluency, and negotiation skills into a single, agile capability, helping clients achieve outcomes that no algorithm alone can deliver.

Readers can connect with Christophe Derdeyn on LinkedIn or visit his website for more insights.